Sound Transit breaks ground for new Mercer Island Park-and-Ride Garage

Sound Transit and its partners, King County Metro Transit and the City of Mercer Island, broke ground today for what will certainly be a welcome new addition to the regional transit system - a new two level park-and-ride garage.

It used to be one of the toughest tickets in town. Well, it wasn't exactly a ticket; it was a parking spot in the old Mercer Island Park-and-Ride lot. If you got there after 8 a.m. on a weekday, you were usually out of luck.

"When this new garage is completed in about a year, it will almost double the number of parking slots at this location," said Sound Transit Boardmember and Issaquah City Councilman Fred Butler. "Sound Transit has completed or started construction on almost 5,000 parking spaces along the I-90 corridor. These additional spaces allow people to get out of their cars and make connections to transit, taking pressure off the roads and improving mobility along I-90." Butler was the Master-of-Ceremonies at the groundbreaking.

 "Mercer Island has had a long and productive discussion with Sound Transit regarding this park-and-ride garage," said Mercer Island mayor Bryan Cairns. "We look forward to the new garage which will be a tremendous benefit to Mercer Island citizens and to Sound Transit customers."

The new low-profile garage will have 450 parking stalls with landscaping and architecture designed to fit well into the surrounding neighborhood. When completed, the new transit center will feature extended bus bays, new and vastly improved bus shelters for passengers and increased bicycle storage.

Public art, as part of Sound Transit's Start Program, will be an important part of the passenger experience at the new transit center.

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Sound Transit plans, builds and operates regional transit systems and services to improve mobility for Central Puget Sound.